Trinamool slams Congress union minister

Kolkata, Feb 11 (IANS) Attacking union minister and Congress leader Ashir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Trinamool Congress Monday said he was trying to put pressure on the Murshidabad district administration ahead of the Rejinagar assembly by-poll in West Bengal.

Trinamool secretary general Partha Chatterjee also sought the Election Commission's intervention into the "muscle flexing" by Chowdhury, union minister of state for railways.

"We strongly condemn the way the union minister is putting pressure on the state administration ahead of the Rejinagar by-poll," Chatterjee told mediapersons here.

The Congress has called a 12-hour shutdown in Murshidabad district Feb 13, protesting against the district administration filing police cases against the Congress leaders and workers for alleged vandalism at the district magistrate's bungalow Feb 7.

Angry over District Magistrate Rajeev Kumar not personally taking a memorandum from Congress workers protesting against the death of a party worker in police custody, the activists forcibly entered the officer's residence in Baharampur town smashing flower pots, uprooting flowers and stoning public vehicles in the presene of Chowdhury.

The Rejinagar by-poll, slated for Feb 23, have been necessitated by the lawmaker and erstwhile Chowdhury loyalist humayun Kabir leaving the Congress and becoming a minister in the Trinamool Congress government by resigning his assembly seat.

"The Congress is flexing its muscles by calling the shutdown. I appeal to the Election Commission to foil his efforts of fomenting trouble," Chatterjee said.

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